Old wounds more slowly heal and bleed anew
When younger, deeper cuts have been forgot;
Archaic injuries demand their due,
The sting still keen, the pain yet fiery-hot.

Old grudges linger on beyond their day
When far more recent spites are laid to rest;
Old grievances decline to go away
But fester on, their venom unredressed.

Old loves we thought long dead somehow survive
When later flames have flickered out and gone;
Old scenes reanimate as much alive
As when we spied them first as fresh as dawn.

And more and more our happiness depends
On cherishing our few extant old friends.

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